The kitchen is painted as much as it can be. There will be places I have to go over again and the trim needs to be done too but, mostly it is finished.It is a very pale yellow. Both the living room and kitchen are done in tinted whites really. The living room in the palest of blues and the kitchen in the palest of yellows.

I am just exhausted now from moving furniture, book cases, books...tons of them, and painting for two days but I have a lot under control
It seems I need an electrician for the stove hood. Oh well. amother thing to sit in a box for a long time.

Icy cold and 9 degree wind chill last night, iced over bird bath this morning.
The winds are more like December and its very cold. I hope it means a cool summer.
I can't afford to run air conditioning anymore and it would be nice to have a summer where open windows send in cool breezes rather than hot humid air.
New Jersey is a sub tropical climate because it is so hot and humid in the summer time. I don't like that. Hot weather makes me feel sickly.
So praying for a very cool summer. 72 F is hot enough for anyone.

I babysat again this morning while V had to go do a job. The baby is such a sweetie. She is so gentle and loving.It's so great to be around her.

For Springtime it's still pretty chilly sometimes and though I was able to turn off the heat for a few afternoons, at night and in the morning you still need it.
I got a waterfall running on one pond, but now that I look at it, I will have to redo it. I feel it compromises the edge of the pond too much and is too low to the water line. So back to the drawing board. That's not unusual when working with a pond though, for me, anyway. I find it can be a bit of trial and error til I get it right.
But a large open filter with waterfall will be easier for me to keep clean in the long run.
I have to get to WalMart for some ammo-carb and more filter material too.

I will have a bulk day party for my family to help me clean up the junk around the yard and get it out on the curb.

Noticed that NJ has sent their electric rates sky high and its too doggone expensive to run most of the time. I have seen that neighbors didnt use many lights at christmas and even at night most houses are dark now.
Problem in America today is people do not complain enough about these rates and other things like it. Prices are out of sight.
Have a nice day

I pulled the house apart today doing spring cleaning.
I am ruthless with throwing things out if I do not use them or giving them away.
It seems good to have only one of each thing if you can do it, especially in the kitchen where space often is at a premium. Rather to have food stocked than two spatulas anyday I think.
So I moved a kitchen table into the office to use as a nice big desk. Its working nicely so far, though a bit high for typing but overall, thats okay.
I took down the plastic picnic table, long and thin, that I was using and will store that in the daughter's garage.
I moved the dining room set into the kitchen once again, as I really don't have a separate dining room but was using first the office, then half the living room.
I was fooling myself and I had too much strewn about so its back as it was long ago now.

I am weeding out closets, cabinets, bathroom,even giving away towels that I don't use often.
The house needs to be pared down as much as possible since it is a tiny cottage with only 2 closets in the whole place. There's simply no room for much of anything and no storage at all.

Wish me luck.

Sunday Blues

What an awful weekend.
Back ache all the time with sciatica longside it. Yuk.
I wish the weather would be a bit nicer but, sometimes I have found even that doesnt help much.
So I dont feel much like doing anything but sitting around.
Guess I will play some games and sip tea.
Just a short post....... have back ache to take care of.

Breakfast at Lemon's

Gashouse Eggs for breakfast today.
Did you ever have them?
Just put a bit of oil in a frying pan and begin toasting a piece of bread from which you have removed a quarter to half dollar sized piece in the middle.
I used 12 grain bread because it has a nice nutty flavor. Once the bread begins to toast lightly, crack a nice fresh egg into the hole in the middle. Cook a bit more, then flip and do the other side.
You fry til the egg is to your liking.
I love them. Some people call it "Toad in a Hole" but, I learned it was called "Gashouse Eggs" and that is what I call them.
In the Kitchen the flowers are blooming so spring is on the way.
I will miss winter as I was hoping for a few good howling wind days and didn't get but one!
Have a great weekend.

The week has flown by. It was just Friday a moment ago and now here it is another Thursday and will be Monday again soon, too soon.

Life should not fly by in my opinion. It is too precious to speed on by like a blur. Each moment has to be enjoyed and kept for a while.

You know, I really would love to go back in time and see how it was. I mean, in my own time, my own childhood times. I think things look different when you are an adult.

When I was little I remember that my grandmothers dining room table had a trestle type bottom to it and I remember sitting under there and hiding. It seemed huge to me!

I remember hiding underneath the kitchen sink and in the bathroom hamper when my older brother would play monster and come after me.

It really scared me and one thing I learned from it was that kid's really don't like that even if they are laughing. The laugh is nervous but they are frightened and I know my own feelings were that he had really become a monster. I was about 3 I think. I can remember back clearly very far.


And now its time for: drum roll.................


1. You are walking down the road and you look down. There is a bug. Do you step on it? No.



2. What is one fantasy that you want to come true more than any other? To have a loving husband.



3. Someone knocks on your door. Do you look out the window to see who it is before you open it? Do you open it regardless of who it is? I do look and no I do not open to just anyone.



4. Have you ever eaten Play Doh? No, I think I did place my tongue on it to taste it though. Yuk



5. What was your favorite Saturday morning cartoon as a child and why? Well not Saturday morning, but I do like Bat Man



6. Are you a "people watcher"? Yes when sitting in a car waiting.



7. I have a bowl of fruit. There are apples, oranges & pears. You help yourself to one - which one do you choose? Pear



8. What is your biggest pet peeve in the blogging world? I really am not sure.



9. What is one religion that you could just never see yourself joining? Islam



10. What word do you use far too often?



11. How long do you spend in the shower? under 10 minutes most times.



12. If you were to write a personal ad about yourself, what would it say?



"Look up in the sky, its a Bird... !its a Plane! It's Me! Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Who disguised as Annie/Lemon, mild mannered blogger for a minor seaside blog fights the unending battle for truth, justice, and the American way."





13. Your favorite flavor of soup is....? Chicken Soup, Vegetable soup



14. You are sitting on a bench in the park and a bug walks in front of your feet.... do you squash him?

NO! Leave da buggies alone!

Monday

The interesting thing about this "quiz" is that this is how I do wear my hair! Very cool.

Your Ideal Hairstyle:

Soft Layers

What Women's Hairstyle Is Right For You?

We have a ton of snow today , I would say nearly a foot of it. It snowed all night last night and well into this morning.

Snow, Music and Globetrotters

It began to rain last night and I could hear the steady pitter pat on the big air conditioner that sticks through the living room wall. Yes, well I am not fond of it, but it's what I have.
By 2:00AM it was a fine snow that was falling and today there is a light coating here and there.

Wednesday we are going to see the Harlem Globe Trotters. I have not seen them since I was in high school millions of years ago and it will be great to see them once again. If you never have seen them, its a fun time and they are very talented. You would not be disappointed.

I ordered to CD's from Amazon that I had heard long time ago and enjoyed very much.
One was the sound track from the original Pink Panther movie and the other was the sound track from the television program Mission Impossible. Two songs on each one were of particular interest to me. One is the Lonely Princess on the Panther one and one is, I believe, Cinnamon's theme from Mission Impossible. Both scores were written by Henry Mancini and I have always liked his compositions a lot. Him and Burt Bacharach. I love his songs because they are so different.
Of his compositions I like "This Guy's in Love", "A House is not a Home" among so many others.
Henry Mancini was so active in writing film scores at one point and so many of his songs are well known . When I think of Audrey Hepburn I think also of the music of Henry Mancini who wrote the scores for Breakfast at Tiffany and Charade, etc.

Good music and good times just go together I think.
Bye.

Going Postal!

What a day yesterday was. I had to run around for 3 hours trying to get papers noterized and witnessed and then find a place to FedEx the stuff overnight.
I ended up paying $20 to have the US post office deliver it overnight. The Fed Ex was just so out of the way and after all that running around I just didnt want to go any further with it.

Inside the post office there was a hold up also...well the first post office as I ended up going to a second one in a smaller town with less people.
After standing in line for over half an hour, the 3 employees who were standing around finally looked up and said, Oh, all our computers are down, you people might want to go to another post office!
There were 10 people in line and it took them all that time to admit a problem.
Just.....blah, what were they thinking?
So I travelled a bit farther south to a much smaller post office where there is one lady who just seems to be able to handle it all and got service with a smile and with competence.
Nice for a change.

That set the tone for much of the day but then I was not in the pink either most of the day.
Today seems a better day and tonight is Lost and the Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham, which hopefully will be very interesting.
It might clear up a lot of nagging questions that have gone on for the last 4 years.
People who watch Lost become very involved because it is an ongoing mystery that just grabs your attention and keeps it.

Television lately, however , seems to be shooting itself in the foot. They seem to banish good programs left and right while hanging onto some awful junk
I am not a reality tv fan much and those seem to own the airwaves right now.
Shows like The Office have gone from good to bad writing and dirty jokes. The lead characters are becoming cartoons of themselves and sometimes it is so over the top and stupid I just have to turn it off.
Big Bang theory, which I do enjoy still remains cute and strong .

The shows I watch are few but I watch them steadily: Big Bang Theory, Smallville, Sarah Connor Chronicles (though now that it has gone to Friday night, I see it on the net) and Lost.
Sometimes I also enjoy Samantha Who?
That is it really. The rest of the time the television is off unless I happen to run into an old black and white movie from Bette Davis or Joan Crawford...you know, the classics.

Well thats about it for today. I have to update other blogs and work on some graphics.

Rainy Day

Rain, rain and more rain.
I hear returning birds now in the morning. Well, one and then I hear the mourning doves which hardly ever seem to sing in the winter.
I heard on the radio that birds have stopped going as far south as they used to in winter since winters have been a bit milder lately. It said they go 40 miles farther north over the last many years.
Cycles in weather come and go though. Some winters are frigid and some are warmer.

I love the sound of the rain on the air conditioners. There is something nice about being warm and dry inside while you hear the rain pattering about outside.
Downpours I don't like. I worry about the gutters, etc. But light rain isn't bad at all once in a while.
When I lived in Utah I used to hope for a rainy day. Summer is no rain and then you hit what's called the monsoon season of early fall and it rains and rains sometimes.
Winters were tons of snow.

Monday.

Out the window I see a clear cloudless blue sky .
I have been hearing more birds too. I hope they aren't returning just yet as I have to close up a couple of holes in soffits before they nest there again this year. sigh.
I was told there is a reliable person to repair them for me and now I need their name and an estimate on price.
I am anxious to get it done.

later that night:
I spent a while making fun photos on loonyphoto site and then photoshopping them even more to make them really cute.
Now I will send them out to the family who will have some fun with them I think.

In the meantime friends dropped by and I made us all dinner of sausages and peppers and mashed potatoes . It was nice to have company over.

Sunday Night

It's Sunday and I am listening to Mystery Radio for a few hours.
All my favorites are on today and so I am enjoying them. Right now its Frank Merriwell.
Frank Merriwell was the fictional creation of Gilbert Patten, who wrote under the pseudonym Burt L. Standish.
The model for all later American juvenile sports fiction, Merriwell excelled at football, baseball, basketball, crew and track at Yale while solving mysteries and righting wrongs(from wiki)
It was a cold bright blue day today but it ended too quickly because I slept too long and got up too late . I suppose it should be an early night tonight and then I can wrap myself up for the night and get a decent sleep.
Tomorrow night is Big Bang Theory which I like and then Wednesday comes Lost which is getting better all the time.

Outside the window the old, dim , yellow street lamp glows weakly in the dark and the neighborhood is silent. I suppose people are inside watching television or whatever it is they do on quiet Sunday nights.
I am here with the radio(on the net) and typing this up, nothing exciting going on at all.

Google Logos:very Cool!

One warm day and now some chilly nights.
We had quite a wind storm the other day. It blew and blew all day long.
Other states really had it bad but there were some 60 mph gusts here. I thought the lines would come down really. It seemed that way quite a few times.

Today was Valentines Day .
I thought that Google's logo was nice but not romantic enough for the day.
Some of their logos are very cute and some are pretty. I loved the Beatrix Potter logo they had . It was just very lovely.
I think it's such a nice idea when they have kids design them and I am sure it's a thrill for a kid to see their idea and drawing on a major outlet like Google.
Very cool, Google.

They seem to keep an eye out for just about every kind of holiday or remembrance there is because some of the logos come as a surprise!
The next major holiday is St. Patrick's day I believe.. oh no, Presidents day is next. Monday I think. So that will be nice to see what they do with that.

Baby Sitting and Lost Tonight

Another day and spring is in the air. It is warmer today and bright and clear. Skies are blue as can be.
I took care of the little bubblehead this morning. She had a snack and then walked around the furniture for a while. She is walking very nicely now. Then we watched a little cartoon about piggies and had a bottle of milk and finally a short nap til it was time to go home.

Tonight is Lost and I have to say I am eager to see what's what yet again this week.
It has been pretty revealing so far unlike past years where you waited entire seasons for one crumb of information.
It will be interesting to see where it's all leading and who is who in this exciting show.

LBI

So much for bright blue winter skies. Today is cloudy and gray.
In looking up information about Long BeachIsland I found that the climate is called humid subtropical.
Wikipedia defines it as :

Humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and chilly to mild winters.

It is that. The sand in summer, sugar white sand, can be so hot you can hardly walk on it. Winters are mild. Mild is relative though since by the water in winter is always bitter when the wind blows and its rare that the wind isn't blowing off the sea. Still, the temperature just off the water are milder than in north Jersey for sure.
The Island is not very wide. It has a bay side and a sea side and a road inbetween.
The beaches are huge though with sand dunes that can reach upwards of more than 40 feet and are a challenge to climb to get to the water on the other side in places.

Barnegat Light is at the very tip of the northern end and stands over 200 feet tall, one of the tallest in the world if not the tallest.
It overlooks the pennisula of land that is as thin and as long that descends down from NJ and meets the island.That part is Island Beach State Park.

In being humid subtropical we are in the same category as the rest of the southern US. South Jersey is more southern minded than north Jersey and there is even friendly competition and arguement about it.
Southern Jerseyans call the northerners "Bennys". The origin of the name is shrouded in myth now and so I really can't tell you how it came to be. The Bennie's are both a welcome crew and an annoyance.
Welcome for the dollars they spend in the south on tourism. They come to their summer homes and for vacations etc. and drop a bundle.
Annoying for their very presence when you are trying to enjoy your backyard as it were.
There is a peace that descends in late September, early October when they go home.
The summer here extends that long. You can swim right through into early October most years though there is no lifeguard service during those months, they work only from late May thru Labor Day. And you really don't want to go in without them.
New Jersey beaches are among the safest and most pleasant for swimming in all the world but all ocean has its dangers.

One of the nicest features of the Jersey shore in the south is our white sugar sand.
It is almost pure white and it has a very fine sugary consistancy to it. It just sparkles. In summer though, on the hottest days it can be hard to walk on barefoot.
You learn to hop and say Ouch Ouch Ouch as you navigate along.

Spring is Coming

Some people are finding frogs in their prepackaged salads. Just the thing.. a pet in a bag. How cool is that now?

Spring comes next month and I hold my breath as to whether or not my trees will produce fruit this year. I have Job tree spikes but didnt put them in. I guess I can still do that though and hope for the best.
Last year the apples were small and poorly. I hope for better things this year.
Fertilizer is needed I suspect. The ground here is sandy and poor.

Today was sunny and spectacular out. Not a trace of bad weather and a gloriously blue sky. I hope that summer will be warm but not hot.
Farmer's almanac says that summer will be wet this year. I don't look forward to that either though.

End of the Week

The weekend is here and it's sunny and bright this friday. I hope its sunny and bright tomorrow too.
I think it might even be warmer out.
Today i had to make bisquits since I ran out of bread and can't get to the store. They tasted pretty good if I do say so myself. Light and fluffy and nice with raspberry jam on them and a cup of hot tea.
That was my breakfast/lunch.
No, I am not a gourmet.

My computer keeps telling me I am offline. Its the cable company here. It is not reliable.People who have this same company in other areas don't have the glitches we get here but, we do get glitches like going off line for a minute every now and again...more now than again too.

My telephone land line is corroded too so I have no land line in the house anymore.
For a whle I put it out the window and ran the line directly to the box but now I just use a cell phone on my daughters account. She gets 3 phones for one price each month and I never call and no one calls me so its no a big deal

See you later.

Magic and Children

There are three of these lovely kids that I love and here they are.





There is a magic to life with children in it. Magic that adults forget.


I never forget the magic but I am the perennial child anyway. I am glad of that since it keeps the imagination alive and the wonder growing all the time.
Lying on the grass all times of year looking for falling stars, seeing the humor in so much. These are things never to be forgotten and always to be cultivated.
Adults seem to lose wonder and become jaded far too soon for their own good.
No one should be jaded..not ever.
It is because they lose the wide eyed wonder and love of life that things can turn dark in the world.








When you are with children you can be free to take off on flights of fancy.

Blue Skies and Lost Tonight!

The sky was bluer than blue today . It was cold and the snow was glittering like crazy.
I didnt feel too well today but, made the best of it. I was supposed to watch Merry after school so that Rynnie and her father could go sledding on the hills but, I was just not up to it.
So the plan was to bundle Merry up in the stroller and let her go along for the fun.

Tonight is LOST!! I am so excited as usual. I just am very eager to see what will happen next.
Last week's episode was wonderful and we found out that a very beligerent and aggressive British soldier was really just a younger version of an older character in a future time.
So, pretty thrilling stuff is happening and we are going to learn more and more as the weeks go by.
It's like not be allowed to finish up a good novel because someone locks up the book after each chapter. Not fair!

More Winter?

No, I didnt see Mr. Beaver today. And as a matter of fact, I felt so bad today from fibro that I stayed in bed til after 11 AM and I don't even recall if it was sunny or not outside.
Certainly by the time I remembered it was Ground Hog day the sky was cloudy.

Phil saw his shadow though and so they say 6 more weeks of winter. The Farmer's almanac agrees with this and says it will be cold.
Summer in the mid Atlantic states will be wetter than usual and warm but not overly hot and I am glad to hear that, and rain is always okay as long as its not too much for too long. No flooding thank you.